Mall tenant challenges eviction

Friday, Aug. 17, 2001 | 10:48 a.m.

A Desert Passage mall tenant accused of defaulting on $337,099 in rents is fighting its landlord's eviction notice.

Caffe Ferraro, a coffee and gelato shop, which said it agreed last August to lease a space at the Desert Passage at a monthly rent of $27,300, has challenged an Aug. 9 eviction notice from the mall, which is part of the Aladdin megaresort complex on the Las Vegas Strip.

The coffee shop, which said it was being billed $100 per square foot for 2,826 square feet each month, said the eviction notice is a"misstatement" and "an inaccurate representation" after a licensed surveyor it hired reviewed the lease floor plan and determined the actual square footage is only 2,732 square feet.

Caffe Ferraro, which said it has been overbilled $103,400 from August 2000 through June 2001 and hasn't been credited back, said it hasn't paid about $60,000 in rents for the months of July and August because that amount is "more than offset by the $103,400 in overbilling."

The coffee shop, which said eviction proceedings may only be used when tenants default on rents, said it shouldn't be evicted because the remaining $270,000 isn't rent but disputed monies regarding tenant improvements during the Desert Passage's construction and at the coffee shop.

Aladdin officials could not be reached for comment.